To the best of our knowledge, the concept of a caste system evolved on Ksreskézo organically, long before first contact with humans. As an institution it greatly informed the architecture of Ksreskézaian society till its very last day, providing a framework in which slavery and oppression, both of their own species and aliens, could be morally justified. There is limited evidence that the Rotomem also had some form of social stratification, and it has been proposed that this may have been folded into the Ksreskézaian tradition following contact. It is clear, nevertheless, from texts such as the Idha, that the late Ksreskézaian culture had an elaborate system of honours, titles, and classes, and also that it had obvious roots in the hunter-gatherer era of the species, where delineations between tribal matriarchs, arbiters, merchants, warriors, hunters, foragers, and caregivers enabled routine societal function, and even total strangers could be graded according to multiple criteria: tribe, ethnicity, and species. Amidst such a bounty of natural groups, it is little wonder the Ksreskézai believed there were essential, immutable differences between individuals that dictated their places in the natural order.
After the extinction of the Ksreskézai, the Lilitai took a somewhat different perspective on the concept of natural order. Sarthía believed there must be some basis to the classifications used by the Ksreskézai, and sought to identify analogues among her peers. The result of this research was the system of Lilitic genders. The Lilitai did not use this taxonomy to restrict vocations in any way, but it did function as something of an aptitude test, improving efficiency by guiding individuals to roles that leveraged their strengths. The gender system had four categories, roughly equivalent to performer, theorist, activist, and engineer, each correlating with a range of professions, perspectives, and talents. It seems likely, in retrospect, that the fluidity of this system—individuals were often described in terms of relative affinities for each category, rather than exclusive membership—ensured that it did not become overly strict.
The Wanisinese approached the matter differently. Inured to the evident efficacy of Sarthía's classifications, but opposed to the egalitarian principles of Sarthía herself, Kowako and her successors revised the tetrad system toward a fixed set of permanent occupational categories. There were initially only three castes, designed to fit the needs of building a civilization, but over time this expanded to five traditional groups, sometimes augmented by other, shorter-lived sub-classifications. The standard castes at the end of Wanisin's Classical period were as follows, ranked from highest to lowest:
Insha is derived from intshéa, meaning 'member.' This term originated within the Alestéan cult of Kowako and was applied to anyone who subscribed to Kowako's beliefs, was known to the temple, and had not been excommunicated or otherwise rejected. Over time its origin was somewhat obscured, and it came to be the default category for the Wanisinese, essentially amounting to citizenship. The development of the caste system is best described as a process of carving out partitions of the Inshi and imbuing them with particular rights and responsibilities. For most of Wanisin's history, the Inshi were the educated middle class, and primarily occupied white-collar jobs. The wealthiest Inshi were generally successful merchants and business owners.
As Inshi constitute the undifferentiated bulk from which the other castes are derived, there is no silera iledis peculiar to them. However, unlike slaves, they are encouraged to obtain an education and most are literate, so the most common caste organisation is a stokka, or scriptorium, which fulfils contracts for tasks ranging from accounting and legal research to proofreading and publication. Particularly successful and highly-regarded stokki sometimes employ nobility as figureheads as a kind of entente to protect them from other nobles, as few legal protections exist to stop the high caste from attacking a stokka in the high courts.
Hakro is derived from the Ksreskézaian hakrodeklo epithet, meaning 'pure-blood soul,' which was borne by members of royal families in Tévopío and Wemno. The Hakri were the first distinct social caste formed, separating the leaders of the settlers from the rest. Unlike the other groupings, the Hakri were not defined by a correspondence with Sarthian gender, although by definition the leaders of the movement tended to be tshildai (performers) and stíldai (theorists).
The hakro caste organisation is called a koisetto, meaning 'household,' and consists of a founder and her descendants, as well as any women married or adopted into the family and their descendants. Unlike Lilitic marriages, hakri marriages are asymmetric, and involve the bestowal of an open torc collar called a zhofeda upon the inferior member. As with other ownership paradigms, the dominant partner may bestow multiple zhofedi but a collared hakro may not participate in any other such relationships and loses any ties she may have had to other families, including that of her birth. In addition to family members, koisetti are some of the most expansive caste organisations and generally employ large numbers of other ekeli and slaves in a wide range of positions.
After the extinction of the Ksreskézai, the Lilitai took a somewhat different perspective on the concept of natural order. Sarthía believed there must be some basis to the classifications used by the Ksreskézai, and sought to identify analogues among her peers. The result of this research was the system of Lilitic genders. The Lilitai did not use this taxonomy to restrict vocations in any way, but it did function as something of an aptitude test, improving efficiency by guiding individuals to roles that leveraged their strengths. The gender system had four categories, roughly equivalent to performer, theorist, activist, and engineer, each correlating with a range of professions, perspectives, and talents. It seems likely, in retrospect, that the fluidity of this system—individuals were often described in terms of relative affinities for each category, rather than exclusive membership—ensured that it did not become overly strict.
The Wanisinese approached the matter differently. Inured to the evident efficacy of Sarthía's classifications, but opposed to the egalitarian principles of Sarthía herself, Kowako and her successors revised the tetrad system toward a fixed set of permanent occupational categories. There were initially only three castes, designed to fit the needs of building a civilization, but over time this expanded to five traditional groups, sometimes augmented by other, shorter-lived sub-classifications. The standard castes at the end of Wanisin's Classical period were as follows, ranked from highest to lowest:
- Hakro: Noble
- Virado: Warrior
- Mounildo: Engineer
- Insha: Commoner
- Saba: Slave
The Inshi
Insha is derived from intshéa, meaning 'member.' This term originated within the Alestéan cult of Kowako and was applied to anyone who subscribed to Kowako's beliefs, was known to the temple, and had not been excommunicated or otherwise rejected. Over time its origin was somewhat obscured, and it came to be the default category for the Wanisinese, essentially amounting to citizenship. The development of the caste system is best described as a process of carving out partitions of the Inshi and imbuing them with particular rights and responsibilities. For most of Wanisin's history, the Inshi were the educated middle class, and primarily occupied white-collar jobs. The wealthiest Inshi were generally successful merchants and business owners.
As Inshi constitute the undifferentiated bulk from which the other castes are derived, there is no silera iledis peculiar to them. However, unlike slaves, they are encouraged to obtain an education and most are literate, so the most common caste organisation is a stokka, or scriptorium, which fulfils contracts for tasks ranging from accounting and legal research to proofreading and publication. Particularly successful and highly-regarded stokki sometimes employ nobility as figureheads as a kind of entente to protect them from other nobles, as few legal protections exist to stop the high caste from attacking a stokka in the high courts.
The Hakri
Hakro is derived from the Ksreskézaian hakrodeklo epithet, meaning 'pure-blood soul,' which was borne by members of royal families in Tévopío and Wemno. The Hakri were the first distinct social caste formed, separating the leaders of the settlers from the rest. Unlike the other groupings, the Hakri were not defined by a correspondence with Sarthian gender, although by definition the leaders of the movement tended to be tshildai (performers) and stíldai (theorists).
The hakro caste organisation is called a koisetto, meaning 'household,' and consists of a founder and her descendants, as well as any women married or adopted into the family and their descendants. Unlike Lilitic marriages, hakri marriages are asymmetric, and involve the bestowal of an open torc collar called a zhofeda upon the inferior member. As with other ownership paradigms, the dominant partner may bestow multiple zhofedi but a collared hakro may not participate in any other such relationships and loses any ties she may have had to other families, including that of her birth. In addition to family members, koisetti are some of the most expansive caste organisations and generally employ large numbers of other ekeli and slaves in a wide range of positions.
